The Private Eye

The Private Eye, by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, is a pay-what-you-want digital comic series available at PanelSyndicate.com. And it truly is “what you want to pay” — if you want to download it free, you can, but it’s quality work, deserving of your support.

There are four issues out so far, telling the story of a world where, after all secrets were revealed, everyone now pretends to be someone else. We follow a private eye (called “paparazzi” in a world where the only cops are press) who gets caught up in a murder when his client is killed. With the help of her sister and an underage getaway driver, he’s now on the run himself. The art’s incredible, the characters fascinating, and the story has plenty of mystery to keep readers wondering who’s behind everything. It’s a future noir, a comic with the attitude of the classic “lone wolf” detective series and plenty of “what if” ideas about where society might go.

You can download issues as PDF, CBR, or CBZ, with no encryption, plus there’s a “making of” issue. Issues are available in English, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and French. Pages are arranged horizontally, which makes it easy to read on a tablet or laptop screen. The most recent issue came out in early October, and I don’t know when the next one is due, but you can follow the official Twitter for updates.